BlackWidowPilot  | 02 Jan 2009 10:53 a.m. PST |
I've been baaaad:
link
So if ya wants a modular plastic starship model to mess with, here's your chance! 
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| 28mmMan | 02 Jan 2009 11:01 a.m. PST |
Leland! I think some pics would help your efforts…blind to the process is going to be a hard road to travel :( Best of luck with your project it sounds viable. |
| BlackWidowPilot | 02 Jan 2009 11:05 a.m. PST |
28, I'll post pics on my personal blog over the weekend to drive this process forward, as well as crosspost the announcement on Star Ranger's Starship Combat News website forums. In the immortal words of a contemporary pop-culture icon… Huh! Huh! Huh! This'll be cooool! Huh! Huh! Huh!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| fairoaks024 | 02 Jan 2009 12:13 p.m. PST |
thanks leland, just subscribed, regards jim |
| Grizwald | 02 Jan 2009 1:20 p.m. PST |
While I applaud the idea of voting for what a manufacturer will actually produce (I believe Eureka were the first to do this?), has it occurred to anyone that to actually hit a pre-order of 1000 sprues will require several hundred gamers to sign up for them? I doubt there are that many gamers who are aware of the project at Wargames factory, let alone sufficiently interested in a particular niche product to push it to 1000 sprues. The only one that is anywhere near is Zombies for some unfathomabale reason … |
| tima113 | 02 Jan 2009 1:56 p.m. PST |
Zombies are so popular the WF guys are on their second 1000 pre-order. |
| Warbeads | 02 Jan 2009 3:50 p.m. PST |
"…Zombies are so popular the WF guys are on their second 1000 pre-order…" That's nuts. Wait, it's war gamers… Okay, only slightly skewed… I just don't get the "zombie" thing. Gracias, Glenn |
| BlackWidowPilot | 02 Jan 2009 7:03 p.m. PST |
Mike, are you familiar with this website and its fanatical and active forum community:
star-ranger.com/Home.htm
I posted this announcement on their forums here:
link
Now stop fence sittin' and jump it, the water's fine!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| Fifty4 | 02 Jan 2009 8:54 p.m. PST |
Hi Mike -- We've had a terrific response to the Liberty and Union League idea. As mentioned, Zombies are already close to 1700 sprues requested. Other highly ranked listings in our first couple weeks are: WW2 Late War German Rifle Squad – 740 (daily "orders")
6mm Sci-Fi Androids – 750
French Old/Middle Guard – 640
Vikings – 410 There are also some steady-growing listings that are approaching the 400 mark including Prussians and War of Spanish Succession Infantry and Cavalry. We've seen some listings gain rapidly (Ancient Germans are at 14% after just a few days) and others taking a slower rise (there are also some that aren't moving at all of course!) The full list is here:
link Zombies are going into mold design/tooling next week and this will be our first completed project! Thanks all,
Tony Tony Reidy
Wargames Factory
wargamesfactory.com |
| BlackWidowPilot | 03 Jan 2009 9:16 p.m. PST |
Just posted some actual "x-plane' concept art of a proposed modular combat aircraft system as a thumbnail for what I am aiming for with this proposal…. Check it out:
link
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| BlackWidowPilot | 04 Jan 2009 2:10 p.m. PST |
First sketches of modular starship concept have now been posted on the Liberty & Union League forum! I welcome feedback, people!!!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| BlackWidowPilot | 05 Jan 2009 8:10 p.m. PST |
I'm getting some awesome feedback on thsi proposal on Star Ranger's Starship Combat News website forum! So what's wrong with youse mugs?!!!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
|
| Covert Walrus | 05 Jan 2009 8:51 p.m. PST |
BlackWidow Pilot, so someone else is a fan of the Rockwell HIMAT testbed project! Way cool indeed, and a nice idea for some modular SF fighters as well, just quietly :) Something along the lines of a modular freighter/transport might be fun; Is that what you were working on here? |
| BlackWidowPilot | 05 Jan 2009 10:06 p.m. PST |
Covert, waaay ahead of you on the (covert) fighter idea… as Oscar Wilde once observed, "Talent creates, genius steals!"
Theoretically one should be able to make a freighter out of the modules I'm proposing; it's al in the interpretation, really…
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| Warbeads | 06 Jan 2009 4:11 a.m. PST |
Sticking with the models I have committed to already, BWP. Wish I wasn't but I am. Great idea. Gracias, Glenn |
| Wargamer Dave | 06 Jan 2009 7:50 a.m. PST |
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| BlackWidowPilot | 06 Jan 2009 11:29 p.m. PST |
Glenn, absolutely no problemo! We all have our budgets…
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| BlackWidowPilot | 06 Jan 2009 11:36 p.m. PST |
Dave, I especially like the destroyers from that link you provided:
link
Very nicely done, those ships!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| Lampyridae | 07 Jan 2009 5:36 p.m. PST |
I very much like the look of Starcruiser 2300 AD's ships. Especially nice touches like spin grav. |
| BlackWidowPilot | 23 Feb 2009 8:38 p.m. PST |
Wow!! I've been so darn busy I have shamefully neglected this proposal, and it's still climbing upwards, past the 30% mark already!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| LEGION | 25 Feb 2009 4:24 p.m. PST |
Are there any concept pictures of what this would look like yet? None of the links on this page take me to anything useful. I would probably get one if I knew what it was I was ordering. And if I liked it I would probably buy more. ps. Bevis and Butthead have not been "contemporary" pop culture icons for about 15 years. |
| Grabula | 25 Feb 2009 6:20 p.m. PST |
yeah, I'm highly interested but I'd like to see pictures of something,concept art, mockups, whatever before I commit. |
| BlackWidowPilot | 25 Feb 2009 9:04 p.m. PST |
"Beavis and Butthead have not been "contemporary" pop culture icons for about 15 years."
Correct; now they are in the realm of *classical* cultural icons…. Bwahahaahaa!!!!
BTW, there is an initial concept sketch on the Liberty & Union League forums…
Hopefully my course load will lighten up in a couple weeks, and I can take time to sketch a further series of component designs…
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| BlackWidowPilot | 25 Feb 2009 9:06 p.m. PST |
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| Lysander | 25 Feb 2009 10:50 p.m. PST |
A buddy of mine came up with the idea a few years ago of a "ship on a stick". The first module was a "bow" and the back was a "Stern/engines". His idea was to have a variable length rod and you just slide on whatever components you needed to build – from a destroyer to a dreadnought. Simple enough idea. Surprises me that no one has done it yet. Ooops, guess I/he should have got a patent. |
| BlackWidowPilot | 26 Feb 2009 9:35 a.m. PST |
Lysander, even a patent doesn't always work; family oral tradition holds that a great uncle of mine invented the spring-loaded clothes pin. Had the gadget patented, went to a bar to celebrate, celebrated too much, woke up with a hangover in the street and no patent documents.
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| Covert Walrus | 26 Feb 2009 3:43 p.m. PST |
Great ideas, Leland . . . Thought the turrets are a little large for my FT use, the basic hulls would be most useful. Rather liked the modular approach thet Rommel Twee (IIRC?) posted on the Starship Combat News forum a while ago as well – Nicely done and more fine detail for FT use, which is probably about 1/24000th scale. Sorry to hear about your uncle's story – Still, it's only sliughtly worse than what happened to Tesla . . . :) |
| BlackWidowPilot | 26 Feb 2009 5:25 p.m. PST |
Covert, I expect that due to the limitations of a 4" x 6" sprue, the actual size of the turrets will not be so great as one may think, *especially* if we're talkin' about cramming an actual starship onto that very same sprue! Then again, that was just the first run through; I plan to add still more turret types and such in a follow-on sketch, so stay tuned…
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| darthfozzywig | 27 Feb 2009 2:52 p.m. PST |
I was hoping for modular starship interiors (a la 3-D Space Hulk pieces). Ahh well… |
| BlackWidowPilot | 08 Mar 2009 4:04 p.m. PST |
Just added a new set of concept sketches to this proposal:
link
Add the two sets together on one sprue, and I think we're getting somewhere….
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| commanderroj | 14 Mar 2009 12:52 p.m. PST |
I'd be tempted to buy some for the turrets and sensors alone (I think i said something similar before). I particularly like what appearsw to be a turret with superimposed barrels. Nice work! |
| BlackWidowPilot | 14 Mar 2009 1:46 p.m. PST |
commanderroj, that's the basic idea: enough turrets and such that will enable one to use the sprue as a kitbashing resource, as well as being able to build useable ships straight from the sprue. I planned (tentatively, space permitting) for multiple light and medium gun turrets sporting single, double, triple, quad, quintuple, and sextuple cannon barrel mountings. Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net |
| Smokey Roan | 14 Mar 2009 3:57 p.m. PST |
Wargames Factory rocks! I ordered like Monday, got my zombie sprues yesterday, and am sooo pleased! That starship idea looks great (I'm a "Sky Fullof Ships" player. How big are these ships? |
| BlackWidowPilot | 14 Mar 2009 6:49 p.m. PST |
smokey, well, the idea is that (A) I cram as much as I can on one 4 inch by 6 inch sprue, and (B) multiple sprues can be combined to produce bigger ships!
What I'm shooting for is a sprue whose contents can be used for kitbashing other, larger ships out of empty deodorant containers and such, or can be used to produce at least one or two potent looking heavy cruiser type vessels.
That's the cunning plan, anyway…
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| Ray in Calgary | 15 Mar 2009 8:03 p.m. PST |
Leland, You can count me in when you produce them Ray |
| Ray in Calgary | 15 Mar 2009 8:04 p.m. PST |
Leland,
You can count me in when you produce them
Ray |
| Ray in Calgary | 15 Mar 2009 8:06 p.m. PST |
Sorry for the multiple post folks. Damn computer froze up just as I posted then double up on me.
Ray |
| BlackWidowPilot | 15 Mar 2009 8:41 p.m. PST |
Ray, um, it's not up to me to produce them: I'm not Wargames Factory!
The Liberty & Union League is WF's gift to the gaming community IMHO; anyone can submit a proposal, and if it passes review, it is posted for people to commit to a preorder for one or more sprues. When they break 50% commitment, 3D computer modelling commences. When they break 100% – 1000 sprues total preorder commitment from hobbyists like you or I- they go into production!
So don't be shy! Jump in for a sprue or three!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| BlackWidowPilot | 16 Mar 2009 5:15 p.m. PST |
Another poster on the WF Liberty & Union League forum has started posting 3D renderings of the starship components all on his own, and they look FAAAAAA-BUUUUUU-LOUS!!!!
Follow the link above and chek 'em out!!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
(who is channeling Jim Carey as The Grinch at this moment of triumph)
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| BlackWidowPilot | 21 Nov 2009 9:00 a.m. PST |
Um, this proposal just broke 90% today:
link
C'mon you apes! Ya wanna live forever?!
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| Covert Walrus | 03 Dec 2009 10:19 p.m. PST |
How are things going, Leland? |
| BlackWidowPilot | 04 Dec 2009 12:07 a.m. PST |
91% and holding so far… waiting for the WF powers that be to shake loose the 3D rendering resources for some official renditions….
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| JHaygood | 04 Dec 2009 2:30 p.m. PST |
I guess I will pop for some this weekend and put in my preorder… Jay |
| BlackWidowPilot | 04 Dec 2009 3:48 p.m. PST |
Jay, any and all help is most welcome! IMHO if we push this to 100% pre-order commitment, Wargames Factory will (A) be committed by their own stated terms to produce this proposal (eventually), (B) those of us who are fanatical starship building enthusiasts will have an insanely useful and versatile resource which will have a broader appeal to anyone that just likes to build sci-fi subjects in general! This one IMHO is a win-win-win situation if WF is able to get the crazy thing into production and distribution.
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| JHaygood | 07 Dec 2009 2:05 p.m. PST |
I just pre-ordered 10. Only 70 or so to go. Get your order in so we can get our product out! Jay |
| castellan | 21 Dec 2009 5:08 a.m. PST |
I preordered some. Not far to go now. |
| BlackWidowPilot | 21 Dec 2009 9:52 a.m. PST |
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| BlackWidowPilot | 21 Dec 2009 9:54 a.m. PST |
95% now…. just a few more people needed to carry us to 100%…
Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net
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| BlackWidowPilot | 09 Jan 2010 5:11 p.m. PST |
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| Ravenstar | 09 Jan 2010 11:38 p.m. PST |
ok because your really keeping up with this i ordered 4 , didn't change the the % , but i got it down to 30. |
